Dave Grohl says he’s ‘f***ing deaf’ as he reveals hearing loss

Rock musician claims he’s been lip-reading for 20 years

Dave Grohl has revealed that he’s experienced significant hearing loss throughout his music career.

The Foo Fighters lead singer and guitarist spoke out about his condition during a recent appearance on The Howard Stern Show.

Speaking with the radio host, Grohl declared that he’s unable to hear sound levels of casual conversations clearly.

“If you were sitting next to me right here at dinner, I wouldn’t understand a f***ing word you were saying to me the whole f***ing time,” he said.

“There’s no way. In a crowded restaurant – that’s the worst.”

Grohl, who was also the drummer for Nirvana between 1990 and 1994, went on to add that the increased use of face coverings in the past two years have been difficult for him.

“The worst thing about this pandemic s**t is people wearing masks,” he explained. “I’ve been reading lips for, like, 20 years… I’m a rock musician. I’m fucking deaf. I can’t hear what you’re saying.”

Dave Grohl performs without using ear monitors (Getty Images for The Rock and Ro)

Though normal levels of speech are difficult for Grohl to hear, he told the show that he is still able to detect small audible details in the music he produces.

“When we go in to make a record, and we’re mixing an album, I can hear the slightest little things,” Grohl said. “My ears are still tuned in to certain frequencies, and if I hear something out of tune or a cymbal that’s not bright enough or something like that.

“In the mix, I can f***ing hear the minutiae of everything we had done to that song.”

Though many performers wear ear monitors to hear what’s going on on stage more clearly and to protect their hearing, Grohl does not.

In his view, it detracts from the experience of being able to sense the band and audience at the same time: “It just messes with your spatial understanding of where you are on stage,” he told Stern.

In 2021, Grohl published his memoir The Storyteller, in which he shared more stories about life as a rock musician, as well as recollections from his childhood.